Soldiers of War
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: Annie and Jeff team up together in the third Greendale paintball tournament.
1. Chapter 1

Annie froze at hearing the loud knock on her door, before a second later she heard Jeff yell out "Annie, it's Jeff. Open the door. There's a weird bearded guy out here who keeps staring at me and seductively rubbing his stomach."

She unlocked her many locks and quickly opened the door, pulling Jeff in before closing the door. "You don't want to get close to 'Handsy Joe'. Word of warning, always have gum with you. He likes to fondle people, but if you give him some gum he'll go away without touching you."

"I'm not sure how many more times I need to say this, but you shouldn't be living here Annie."

Annie folded her arms and readied herself for another argument on how she wasn't a kid when Jeff noticed the supplies on her bed. "What are you doing Annie? That doesn't look like schoolwork." She glanced at her bed, which was currently covered with paintball guns, paintball pellets, and Greendale Campus blueprints.

"If you must know Jeff, the end of the school year is coming up, and I'm getting prepared for paintball."

Jeff raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. "You really think The Dean is going to do paintball a third time? Didn't he say this year was going to be different?"

"Yea. But so far this year we've had a Halloween adventure and a Christmas adventure. Pierce tried to screw with us, although thankfully this time it only lasted a week instead of several months like last year. And Chang again spent all year trying to be involved with our study group. So based on provability, I'm getting prepared. Because according to Abed, it's inevitable that it will happen again this year. And I want to win this time."

Jeff looked at her for a moment before he dropped his usual 'cool guy' indifferent stance. "Ok, then let me help you."

"What?"

"Let me help you if there really is a paintball game. If you want to win you're going to need someone who can help you take out the other Greendale students. And that's just if it's a normal game. If it has multiple layers to it, like last year with City College, there's no way you can win it by yourself."

She shook her head as she looked back at him. "Jeff, the first game we played you sacrificed Pierce and did everything you could to win for yourself. And during the last game you were the first one of us that was eliminated. So I'm not sure if you're the best person I should team up with."

"May I remind you, Annie, that I actually made it to the end of a paintball game while you haven't won a game yet."

Her eyes widened and she almost stamped her foot before she managed to keep her cool. It was useless trying to prove she could make it on her own if she started acting like a kid. "Why should I believe you? How do I know you won't get me to the end and then shoot me in the back?"

As Jeff looked at her she could swear his eyes actually looked hurt at her remark. "Annie, when have I ever purposely hurt you?"

"You slept with Britta and then kissed me. You've accused me of being childish and immature. You've-."

"I said I haven't hurt you purposely and with pre conceived malice. I do admit that I've hurt you through impulsive and unintentional actions."

"What about the time you ran for student body president just so I wouldn't win. Or the time-."

Jeff groaned loudly. "OK, ok. Annie, I don't say this often so pay attention to what I'm about to say. But I swear that if you let me help you not only will I ensure you make it to the end but if we are the last two standing you will be the one who wins."

She looked at him, suspicion still showing in her eyes. "Why are you so determined to help me? You rarely do anything when there isn't something in it for yourself."

Jeff looked at her, trying to voice exactly why he was so adamant about helping you. "Because someone who deserves to win paintball should do it this time. And because I've already won, someone else should get the chance to claim whatever prize The Dean offers."

While Annie was still suspicious, she had to admit that the smart play was to accept Jeff's help. If he was telling the truth he could definitely help her make it to the end. And if he was planning to screw her over, wasn't it better to have him close by so she could know when he would strike. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

"Ok Jeff. You have a deal."

Jeff held out his hand. "You've not going to want to make a blood pact or spit on each other's hands are you?"

"Ew Jeff, gross. Just a simple handshake will be fine."

Jeff shook her hand before nodding his head towards the maps on her bed. "So, what do you have planed so far…."

**To be continued. **


	2. Chapter 2

When Jeff pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car he stood staring in shock. Every surface, from the buildings to the ground, was covered in white sheets or plastic wrap. Starting to think that Annie might be right he walked into the main building, where an even odder site greeted him.

Inside every surface was also covered in either sheets or plastic wrap. But lining the walls were sheets with grass fields painted on them. There seemed to be a lot of green and brown around, with everything looking like some sort of lush field.

"Pelt!"

Jeff turned to see Garret sitting at a table, wearing what looked like a brown sheet tied on him like an animal skin pelt. He looked like an extra from The Flintstones.

"I'm sorry?"

"You have to put on a pelt before you go into the gymnasium!" Garret said as he indicated to a pile of brown sheets at his feet.

"I'm sure no one will mind if I keep wearing what I have on." Ignoring Garret's protests Jeff walked into the gym, where he was greeted with the strangest site so far today. The entire gym, in addition to every surface being completely covered, was made up to look like some sort of prehistoric jungle. The walls were covered with sheets with palm trees and (oddly) Christmas trees painted on them. Hanging from the ceiling were green ropes and giant paper mache pterodactyls. And the floor was covered in thin green streamers.

"Jeff, over here!" Jeff looked up and walked over to Abed and Troy, who were both dressed in sheet pelts and carrying clubs.

"Fred, Barney. I didn't even know they were giving out plastic clubs?"

Abed shook his head at Jeff. "Oh they didn't give these out. We already had these when we arrived at school."

"Of course you did. Where are the others?"

"Annie is around here somewhere. Pierce had another fight with his girlfriend and locked himself in one of the handicap stalls, so Britta and Shirley went to try and get the two of them to work it out."

Jeff shook his head at the turn in Pierce's life over the last month. He wasn't sure which was odder; that Pierce was actually involved with a woman his own age or that they fought, broke up, and made up (which Pierce described to them in graphic detail) as often as a high school couple did.

"Jeff!" Seeing the familiar vocal source Jeff made his way through the crowd over to Annie, who was also wearing one of the animal pelt sheets. She looked him up and down with a not so surprised look. "I see a time traveler has arrived in the Stone Age. Don't you ever get tired of always dressing like the cool guy?"

"This is less about being cool, and more about not looking like a moron. Seriously, have you seen yourself?"

To his surprise Annie grinned. "I don't know, I think these outfits have some advantage to them."

Just then Dean Pelton got up on a chair and blew into a microphone. Ignoring or not noticing the looks he got from his outfit (fuzzy brown short shorts and a fuzzy bikini top) he smiled at everyone. "Hello everyone, and welcome to our end of the year "Pre Dawn" mixer. After cramming your minds with ways to improve the future I felt it would be fun to step back into prehistoric times, where the biggest problem you had to worry about was being eaten by a dinosaur."

"Dinosaurs and people never lived together!" Starburns yelled out.

Deal Pelton stammered for a moment before recovering. "Yes well, today we're bringing back a old favorite. We'll be starting the day's activities with a game of paintball."

"SHIT!" They all looked to the back as the janitor kicked a garbage can in frustration and stormed out of the gym. Dean Pelton tried to play it off like it was all an act as he pulled the sheets off the tables in front of him to reveal the paintball guns.

"Well, don't worry everyone. This year I've taken precautions. As you can see every surface had been covered in protective covering. Once we're done we'll just remove it and Greendale will be clean and safe. Now, I've thought long and hard about what the prize should be this year. And I've thought about what everyone here would aspire to be, me. So if you win this year you will be dean of Greendale for a day."

Groans were heard throughout the crowd with someone yelling out. "So if we win we just play dean to this school?"

"Oh, it's not play. I wanted it to be authentic so I had the school board draw up a contract stating that any decisions and policies that are enacted by the student being dean will be official and permanent. You'll have as much power and authority as I do. For a day of course."

The crowd suddenly quieted down as what was said sunk into their heads. "So anything that the dean could do, like deciding if someone could graduate early, was possible?" Someone called out.

"Yes, if you wanted to graduate early that would be poss…" Dean Pelton's face fell when he saw the hungry looks on everyone's face. "Wait, what I meant was-." He screamed as the crowd made a mad dash for the guns and paintball pellets.

"All right!" Jeff looked at Annie as she threw off her animal pelt sheet, revealing several guns and paintball pellets already strapped to her. She handed a gun to Jeff with the determined look of a soldier. "Let's to this."

**To be continued. **


	3. Chapter 3

Yoga pants. Why did she have to wear yoga pants?

That was Jeff's main thought as he followed Annie through the hallways of Greendale. He knew there were more pressing matters to deal with. Paintball was particularly brutal this time, even by its usual insane standard. Many people fell in the minutes following everyone realizing exactly what could be done with the grand prize (though he'd never admit it out loud, if it wasn't for Annie's maps of every exit, strike point, and hiding spot of the school they would never had made it out of the gym unpainted.) Those who survived seemed to have formed war tribes to hunt everyone down. Everyone wanted the win the prize and be dean for a day, so they could get themselves to graduate and get the hell out of there. To Jeff it was his dream come true. Graduate early and go back to his old life as a lawyer. It made priority registration seem like a joke in comparison.

And yet Jeff couldn't help losing focus from those damn yoga pants she had on. He thought she looked sexy last year in those tiny shorts and tights. But this. She was already distracting enough in the tank top she wore. Especially with the cases of paintball rounds strapped around her. She looked like a tiny sexy version of Rambo. But those pants. She might has well have worn body paint, they were so form fitting on her.

"Did you have to wear those pants?" he whispered to her.

She stopped and looked at him, giving him a confused look. "They're my yoga pants. I wanted to be comfortable and be able to move easily."

"Sure, comfort. That's the reason."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You didn't think it'd be a bit distracting to wear those? You might have well have worn nothing."

She opened her mouth in shock before quickly closing it in annoyance. "Well what about you? You wasted no time losing your shirt and resurrecting your action hero sleeveless undershirt look."

"It got me far the last time, didn't it?

"Can we not dwell on our wardrobe choices and focus on getting me to the end."

"Sure. Let's go." As they walked down the hallway Jeff tried not to show how uncomfortable he felt at her last statement. Before today he had had every intention at making sure Annie won paintball this year. But after hearing what the prize was, he didn't think he had in him to not try to get it. Being able to immediately graduate and return to his former life was too enticing a prize.

Annie held up her hand as she stopped and peeked around a corner into another hallway. "Do you hear that?" She frowned as the sound of war cries sounded in the distance. Just as Jeff started to look around himself she pushed him back. "RUN!" Instinctively he listened to her and ran after her, which ended up saving him from what came running after them.

They fled as the drama club came charging after them. Going for realism they had ditched their guns and instead had made paintball blowguns and spears with paintballs tied to the ends. While Jeff and Annie had better weapons they couldn't take on the entire club without getting paint on themselves.

"COME ON!" Annie yelled as she ran towards a classroom. As she stopped to open the door Jeff ran right into her, causing both of them to crash headfirst into the empty room. He pulled himself and Annie up as they franticly looked around the classroom.

"Jeff, the vent. Get in there. I have a idea."

"I'm not hiding from some wanna be tribes men-"

"Jeff, please! Trust me."

Reluctantly Jeff pulled the grate off the vent and crawled inside of it. A few moments later Annie crawled in and pulled the grate back on. Just then the drama club burst into the room.

The two of them fearfully watched as they searched the room. After a few moments the one in a pink feather headdress pointed towards the window. "They went out the window!" He whistled and the group members ran out the room, yelling war cries as they ran towards the courtyard.

Once they were gone Annie crawled out of the vent, followed by an amazed Jeff. "How did you get them to think we went out the window?"

"I figured if I opened it they'd think we went out of it." She grinned as she pointed down towards her feet. "But I left a vital clue to help throw them off our trail."

Jeff looked down and noticed she was only wearing one sneaker. She went over and pulled her other sneaker from the window ledge, which had been placed to look like it had come off when someone crawled through it.

"Come on." She said as she put it back on her foot. As she led them out of the classroom Jeff felt guilt creeping up on him. He knew what he was doing was mean. The fairest thing to do would to immediately shoot Annie and get her out of the game. Dragging it out was just going to make it worse when it eventually happened. But she was a hell of a warrior. And, Jeff did promise her he'd get her to the end.

Jeff had truly reached a dilemma. Annie had to be taken out if he was to win paintball. But he wasn't sure that he actually had it in him to betray her like that. At this point the best play was to just stick with her and wait until the moment of truth to see what he did.

**To be Continued. **


	4. Chapter 4

As they walked down the hallways Annie couldn't help smiling to herself at Jeff's earlier comment about her outfit being distracting. She had meant what she said; she had chosen it purely for comfort and mobility. She was going to wear jeans but she hadn't had a chance to do laundry the night before. So she chose her yoga pants to wear instead, knowing they wouldn't restrict her movements. She hadn't given a second thought to how she'd appear in them when she put them on (this was paintball. She had more important things to focus on then her appearance.)

But she would be lying if she said she didn't like hearing that she was attractive. Especially since in high school she was cruelly mocked because of her appearance. She knew she wasn't the same girl she was back then. But it didn't change the fact that sometimes she still saw herself as the overweight pimply faced girl others laughed and threw spitballs at when she looked at herself. And as pathetic as it sounded, it made her feel good to have proof that she wasn't that girl anymore.

She was sure Britta would scoff if she told her this, and go into a rant on how it didn't matter what women looked like. That they should be respected for their minds and virtues, and not need validation on how their appearance was from others to feel worthwhile. But while Annie did agreed with her, she also personally knew how detrimental it was to be called names like steel straight monster, or crater face, or just simply ugly. While she didn't personally know what Britta's high school experience was like (Britta never talked about it), she had a feeling Britta wasn't picked on for how she looked back then. And if you've never gone through that, it's hard to realize that those scars stay with you forever.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard someone walking towards them. She signaled to Jeff to stop walking as she pulled her guns out. They pressed up against the wall as the footsteps grew closer and closer. Taking a deep breath she jumped around the corner, her arms outstretched towards the approaching person. "Freeze."

Annie saw a pair of guns pointed towards her before they were lowered, revealing Shirley's smiling face. "Annie!" She ran forward and hugged Annie. "I wasn't sure anyone else from the group made it."

"Well, we're not out of it yet." Jeff said as he came around.

"Jeffrey!" She hugged him before she looked at the two of them warily. "I'm guessing this mean you two have teamed up?"

"Yea, I guess you could say that." The three of them stood there uncomfortably, neither of them sure how Shirley's presence factored into Jeff and Annie's strategy, before Jeff loudly cleared his throat. "Have you seen any of the others?"

"Well, Britta's out. We were with Pierce and Marguerite as they were making up from their fight when the prize was announced. As soon as they heard what it was they decided to go rouge. That hussy shot Britta and turned on me. I was just able to escape."

"So Pierce betrayed us for his own gain. Wow, that's shocking." Jeff said.

"Jeff!" Annie said. "Shirley said Marguerite was the one who shot Britta. Maybe he's-."

"You can't seriously be defending him. This is what he does. He helps out when he can, and then betrays us when it's convenient for him."

"I still have faith in him."

"And that faith will cost us the game."

"Will you two stop fighting!" Shirley yelled. "We have bigger problems then Pierce and his girlfriend. The air conditioning repair students are playing this year and they're as accurate at shooting as the city college soldiers were last year."

Jeff's eyes widened as he processed that information. "They're playing? Does that mean-."

"Yes, Rich is playing also. He's leading them."

Jeff groaned in anger as he looked at Annie, who if anything looked even angrier then Jeff did. The events of their third year at Greendale had altered her feelings forever on how she saw Rich. Due to budget cutbacks Rich had been let go from the hospital he worked at. Since it was hard for even skilled doctors to find employment in the current job market he approached Vice Dean Laybourne about being taken on as an air conditioning repair student. It turns out Mr. Perfect wasn't great at everything, since his repair skills were barely adequate at best. But Laybourne told Rich he would take him on, if Rich got Troy to join the air conditioning repair program.

Rich put his plan into action, which was planting evidence that made it look like Troy had been cheating on his biology exams. When Prof. Kane brought the matter to Dean Pelton Laybourne stepped in and said Troy could stay in school if he joined the air conditioning repair program. Luckily they had managed to reveal Rich's deception and clear Troy before he could join Laybourne. But the incident finally made Annie see that Rich was only nice and charming when things went well for him. When the chips were down he would betray anyone to get ahead.

"How is he even a repair student? I thought the deal was he could only join if he got Troy to join also." Jeff said.

"He told me they kept him on because of his effort." Annie explained bitterly. Afterwards Rich had approached Annie and tried to explain himself to her. But she wouldn't hear it, and told him in no uncertain terms exactly what she thought about him.

"Well either way, they're determined to win this thing." Shirley said. "I was with Troy and Abed when they all attacked us. We managed to take most of them out. But Troy and Abed…" She shook her head sadly, revealing that they were no longer in the game. "At least they went out like champions."

Just then a paintball flew past Shirley, missing her by an inch. The three of them looked back as Rich and his repair cronies ran towards them. Including Rich they counted twelve members in total. Shirley fired at the gang, hitting two members as she yelled for Jeff and Annie to run. They all took off, firing behind them blindly as they were chased. Jeff and Annie each managed to take out a member as Shirley hit them with expert precision.

"Guy, over there!" Annie yelled as they rounded a corner into another hallway. She raced towards an empty classroom and threw open the door, pulling Shirley into the room. Just before Jeff could make it a barrage of shots flew all around him. He jumped back and dove into a darkened alcove as Rich continued to shoot.

"He as good as the Black Rider was." Annie said, both in aw over Rich's precision shooting and mad that it was him that processed those skills. She looked over at Shirley and let out a gasp. "Shirley…" She sadly pointed towards Shirley's side. Shirley felt her side, groaned in anger as she looked down and saw the green paint splotch on her shirt.

"Come out Jeff!" Rich yelled out in an annoyingly sing song infliction. "I don't know where your partners are, but I know you're out here. You guys took out the rest of the air conditioning repair team. But I'm still here. And I won't be as easy to eliminate."

As they heard Rich slowly walking Annie started to form a plan. It was insane and she had no idea if she could truly pull it off. But right now it was might be the best way to take him out. "Shirley, pretend that I shot you."

"What?"

"Go out there and pretend that I shot you. I'm going to pretend that I want to join him and catch him off guard. But he'll need proof that I'm serious about joining him."

Shirley looked at Annie before nodding her head. "You are one brave woman. Good luck." As she handed Annie her spare paintball pellets she whispered in her ear "Whatever happens, Jeff cannot win this game." As Annie looked at her in shock Shirley pushed her back. "YOU GODLESS HEATHEN! THERE'S A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR BETRAYERS!"

Annie nervously watched as Shirley ran out of the room, yelling at Rich as he stopped her. You can do this, she thought. You can do this. You're just playing a part. Abed does it all the time. Just become the role. Commit yourself and embrace it.

"Annie, come on out here." Rich said as Shirley walked down the hallway. Annie took a deep breath as she slipped out of the classroom. "There you are. I just spoke to Shirley, and she says you shot her so you could join me."

"That's right." She said, her voice a little high. "I wanted to be with the best to win."

"I'm surprised. I know how much you value your study group."

"Yes. But I value education more." She said as she felt herself grow calmer. She slowly and deliberately walked over to Rich, feeling herself slip into role of a seductress. "With that kind of power I can secure all kinds of recommendations. I can get into a real university."

"Well, I always thought you were meant to go farther than this place. But I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to just let you take being dean away from me."

"I know. You're too good of a player for me to win against." She said, her voice dropping an octave as it took on a seductive edge. "But if I made sure you got to the end, I'm sure you'd return the favor and help me out when you had all that power. Make sure I get into a top grad school."

Rich looked her, his eyes showing suspicion that until recently had never been there. "I would have thought you would be playing this game with Jeff. And have been with him until the end."

She laughed, looking at Rich with pretend amusement. "Jeff's just a boy posing as a man. But you…" She reached up and ran her fingers seductively down his chest.

Rich took her hand and gently pushed it off him. "Annie, I told you how I feel about you."

"I'm not a kid anymore." Annie said, stepping closer as she seriously invaded his personal space. "I'm twenty one now. I can drink. I've been living on my own since I was a teenager. I may be young, but I am an adult." She inched up on her toes as she whispered into his ear. "And if you give me a chance I'll show you just how adult I am."

She pulled back from him, shocked at how easy it was to play this new persona. She didn't even feel like Annie right now. She felt like a completely new, sexually charged woman. A real femme fatale. She briefly wondered if Abed felt this same thrill when he took on a new character.

Rich reached down and wrapped his hands around her wrists, pinning her arms to her sides. She continued to smile as a serge of panic ran through her. How can I get my gun and shoot him if he's holding me, she thought. As Rich leaned down she was glad his eyes were closed so he didn't see the look of disgust wash over her face as their lips met. Her body and mind seemed to operate on separate wavelengths, with her lips furiously kissing his while she franticly tried to figure out how to shot him.

Jeff waited in the alcove, trying to figure out what was going on. He heard Annie and Rich talking before, but couldn't figure out what they were saying. Now all he heard was silence. He slowly walked towards the alcove entrance and stepped into the hallway. And immediately he felt his blood boil at the sight before him; Rich and Annie locked in a make out session.

RICH!, he thought. Annie is making out with Rich! His hands actually shook as he stood there seething. He was about to shoot Annie on principle when he got a good look at her. While her lips were furiously kissing his her face was puckered in disgust. She looked over at him and after her eyes widened for a moment she inched her face down slightly. Jeff glanced down at her hands and saw that her thump and pointer were in an upper L shape, with her moving her wrists franticly towards Rich's back. Jeff looked back up at her and understood exactly what was happening. She was distracting Rich so Jeff could shoot him.

He paused for a moment, truly impressed with her abilities. He knew she was good. But this was beyond anything he would have expected from her. And the fact that it was Rich that she was playing made it even better.

Jeff only paused for a moment though, since seeing Annie kiss Rich was still sickening, even if it was all strategic. He pulled his gun out and shot Rich right in the middle of his back. Rich cried out as Annie ripped her hands from his and pushed herself off him. "What the heck!" He looked over his shoulder and saw Jeff waving his gun, then looked back and saw Annie grinning nastily at him. "You, you were just…you little bitc_."

Before Jeff could shoot him Annie whipped a gun out and pointed it right against Rich's crotch. "Go ahead, finish insulting me. These things can really sting."

"You were just using me to get me out of this game?"

"You framed one of my friends and tried to force him into a life he doesn't want just to better yourself. Consider this a bit of payback. Key word, a bit."

"Hey Rich!" Jeff yelled. Rich turned around and yelled out as Jeff shot him in the chest. "That's for Troy!" He took aim and shot him in the stomach. "That's for pottery!" He grinned as he shot Rich once more, this time at his forehead. "And that's just because I hate you!"

Rich held his forehead and ran off, yelling obscenities as he disappeared. Annie walked over to Jeff, sticking her chin out as she put on her best formidable face. "Before you say anything I just want to say that yes I hated kissing Rich. But if it meant he was eliminated from the game then-."

"Annie. One, that was amazing what you did. You deserve a medal for taking one for the team like that. And two, as soon as this is over I'm finding those roofies we were slipped that one Halloween so I can permanently erase that terrible image from my brain."

He smiled at her to reassure her that things were ok between them before he started walking. She smiled back, but felt it leave her face as she followed him. Shirley's parting words to her kept running through her head. If Jeff won he would make himself graduate early and they'd never see him again. She didn't know how, but she had to make sure that that outcome did not happen.

**To Be Continued. **

**I know Rich was pretty out of character in this chapter, but I got the idea for Annie to kiss a player to distract them and I decided to use a preexisting character rather than invent a brand new one. **


	5. Chapter 5

Annie poked her head through the gym entrance and looked around before signaling to Jeff. "All clear." They walked into the gym, looking all around as they surveyed the area. With the exception of paint splotches everywhere it looked the same as it did this morning. Every surface was still covered in either sheets or plastic wrap. The ground was still covered with green streamers. And giant paper mache pterodactyls were still hanging from the ceiling.

After taking Rich out Jeff and Annie had walked all around campus searching for students. After one hour they thought people had just found really good hiding spots. But once two hours went by without seeing anyone else they stopped talking to each other, nervously sneaking glances at one another as they made their way back to the gym.

Jeff swallowed back his emotions as he slowly took out his gun. They had finally reached the point in the game he had desperately been putting off; the point when it was either him or her. He didn't want to shoot Annie. But the prize was too great for him not to try and get it.

As he slowly raised his gun she whipped around and pointed both of her pistols at him. "I knew it would come to this."

"Annie-."

"What Jeff? You think I'm just going to let you shoot me and hand you the game. I'm not going out without a fight." She licked her lips as her face became animated with anger. "You promised you'd let me win this. Remember. You told me that if we were the last two standing you'd let me win. I guess it was all a lie."

"That was before-." Jeff tried not to look into her doe eyes as he thought about how to go about this. "Look, how about this. I'll let you win and be dean, if you promise that you'll arrange it so I can graduate early. That way we both win. You win the game and improve the school, and I can get out of here. Win win."

"How is that a win Jeff? How is you leaving here early a won for anyone but yourself."

"I thought you were over this Annie! Forcing everyone to conform to your schedule. Having everyone put their lives on hold for your sake. This is the Spanish final all over again!"

"No it's not! I'm not trying to keep you from living your life."

"Then what would you call it Annie?"

As she looked at him sadness mixed in with the anger she was feeling. "I want you here as long as possible because once you leave you'll forget about us!"

"What?" Jeff shook his head as he tried to process this. "What are you talking-."

"Don't even try to deny it." As tears fell down her face Jeff could see that this wasn't a manipulation ploy or girlish defiance. But that she was truly and deeply upset. "I've known for years that as soon as you leave here you're going to forget about all of us. You hang out with us now because you're stuck here. But as soon as you're back to being a lawyer with your old friends we'll just be a distant memory. You spent just a few days with Alan and you almost chose him over us, even after you found out he betrayed you and got you fired. You chose a guy you can't stand over us, your so called friends!"

Jeff stammered as he looked at her, shocked at what she was saying. "I…I won't forget about you just because…we're friends."

"Are we Jeff? Are we friends? Because anytime you introduce us to anyone you always say 'they're my study group'. After three years you still can't admit to anyone that you're actually friends with us!" For the first time in the game her perfect aim wavered as her arms shook. "I know that once you graduate you'll never see any of us again. That you'll never see me again. I just want to keep you around until the inevitable happens and I lose my friend."

Just then footsteps were heard outside, following moments later by the doors bursting open and Marguerite and Pierce walking in. "Freeze." They pointed their guns at Jeff and Annie as Marguerite smacked her gum. "Well looky here. I was beginning to think no one else was around."

"Heard what happened to Britta. Guess it didn't take much for you to betray us. Again." Jeff said to Pierce.

"Jeff, you are, and will always be my friend. But come on. She gets me laid."

"Guess the expression 'bros before hoes' went right over your head."

The four of them continued their Mexican standoff as Marguerite looked at Jeff and Annie. "We haven't seen anyone else in hours. Have you."

"Nope. You two are the first ones we've seen since we took out Rich hours ago."

"Then it looks like we're the last four in this game." Without warning she raised one of her guns and shot Pierce in the chest.

"OW! What the hell!"

"Sorry sweetie. But I want out of this crap hole." As Pierce moved over to the wall Marguerite stepped closer, pointing a gun each at Jeff and Annie. "I'm going to give you till the count of three before I end this. One. Two-."

She suddenly stopped counting as they heard an ominous squeaking above them. They looked over and saw Pierce jerking a rope pulley. They had just enough time to look up before one of the giant paper mache pterodactyls fell from the ceiling. They dove out of the way as it crashed to the ground.

"Get her you two! Take her out!" Pierce yelled.

Seeing her chance Annie scrambled to her knees and fired at Marguerite. A red paint pellet hit her square in the chest just as she fired off one final round. Annie dove down like an expert dodge ball player, but wasn't fast enough as she was hit on the side of the neck.

As she felt her neck she slowly got up and looked at a shocked Jeff. "Looks like you won your freedom from here. Goodbye Jeff. I'll miss you."

**To be concluded. **


	6. Chapter 6

"HELLO! THERE! And welcome to today's award ceremony. I'm happy to say that for once paintball was a huge success. I had my doubts after past experiences. But yesterday's game showed it doesn't have to destroy everything. It was an EXCITING game and the school actually survived it. And after several sweaty and grueling hours, a winner was finally declared. I am happy to announce the winner of this year's paintball game is: JEFFREY WINGER!"

Everyone clapped as Jeff walked onto the stage. As he looked out into the crowd he saw that the entire study group was there. Annie, Britta, Troy, Abed and Shirley were right up front clapping for him, while Pierce was towards the back having a very heated argument with Marguerite. Almost involuntarily he found himself looking over at Annie. While she was clapping he was able to catch a look of regret in her eyes.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he felt Dean Pelton palm the side of his stomach and steer him towards the podium. "Ok Jeffrey, there you go. Wow, have you been working out even more than usual? Now over here is the contract that was drawn up. Just sign it and put the time, 9:37am, and you will officially be dean of Greendale for the next 24 hours." Dean Pelton leaned in uncomfortably close as Jeff put the time on the document and signed it. "Ok then. You are now the dean of Greendale, Dean Winger. Now let's-."

"Actually, I want to say something."

"Um, of course Jeffrey. Oh, what am I saying? I'm not the dean right now. Go ahead. Saw whatever your big muscular heart desires."

Jeff took the microphone as he looked out at the sea of faces staring up at him. "Hello everyone. Dean of Greendale. Wow, that's really something. But seriously, I'm glad I'll have the chance to try and help this school. One thing that Greendale has taught me is that you can't do everything yourself. And that when someone helps someone, they should be rewarded for their effort. So, as my first act at Dean, I would like to appoint my good friend, Annie Edison, as my advisor for the next 24 hours. That is, if she'll accept the position."

Everyone collectively turned to look at Annie, but she took no notice of them. Her attention was only and completely on Jeff. As he looked at her he saw shock on her face, along with a look he couldn't decipher.

"Um, Jeffrey, deans don't really have advisors."

"Pelton, I'm dean of this school, right?"

"Yes, yes you are. For 24 hours."

"Then I say I can have an advisor. That is, if she'll accept the position."

Annie walked up the stage and over to the podium. She waited until Jeff started getting nervous before she finally smiled. "Yes Jeff. I will be your advisor."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ok Jeffrey. Now if you'll just, hey now, there's no need to push. Ok well, if you need anything I'll be right outside-."

Jeff slammed the door to the dean's office and locked it, before putting a chair against the doorknob in case he had keys. "Ten bucks we find some horribly offensive photos before the day is done." He walked over to the desk and plopped down in the chair. "Surprisingly comfy." He put his hands behind his head as he leaned back in the chair.

"Jeff." He leaned forward as Annie approached him with a determined look on her face. "Thank you for having me help you with this. Especially since I'm probably the only person at this school who actually wanted to use this prize to do some good for Greendale. But can you please just get it over with. If we're going to do this I don't want you to pretend like it's not going to happen. So fill out the forms, make your calls, just do it so we can do some work and enjoy our time together."

"Annie-."

"No! I not going to stay here and pretend it's not going to happen. It'll just make it harder when it does. So either get it over with or I'll walk out of here right-."

"Annie! I'm not doing it."

She suddenly stopped speaking, shaking her head as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "What?"

"I'm not going to graduate early."

She stared at him dumbfounded, unable to believe what he was saying. "But, why? You hate it here."

"I may complain about this place a lot. But it's not that bad."

"So that's why you're staying here an extra year? Because it's 'not that bad.'" She disbelievingly said as she put her hands on her hips.

Annie expected Jeff to tell her that he wasn't going to tell her his reason for why he was staying. Or just give her a sarcastic ploy to hide behind. Or say that he's changed his mind and was going to graduate early. What she didn't expect was for him to get up and go over to her. "Annie, do you remember what happened at the beginning of this year? With Biology?"

"Yea. You were kicked out of Biology because your phone kept going off and then…"

"And then I was kicked out of the study group and I went a little crazy. Ok, a lot crazy." He quickly amended as Annie glared at him. "The point is, what I remember most about that whole incident was what you said to me after I tried to destroy the table with a fire ax. You told me if I kept acting crazy you didn't think you could be my friend anymore."

She looked up at him, shocked at what she was hearing. "You remembered that?"

"Yes I do. I also remember what I said afterwards. That just because we were sprouting legs didn't mean we should be that quick to leave the pool. Or something to that effect, I was still a bit loopy from all the monkey gas."

"So you're not leaving here early because of us? Because that doesn't sound like the Jeff Winger I know."

Jeff glanced down as he took a deep breath, preparing himself to open up more then he usually did. "Annie…before I came to Greendale…I didn't have any friends."

"What? No, of course you did."

"I had colleagues, acquaintances, people I associated with because they could get me places."

"Isn't that what you do with us?" Jeff looked up, annoyed that she was mocking him when he was actually trying to open up. But as she smiled he saw that she was playfully teasing him rather than being cruel. He chuckled as he returned the smile. "Yes, I take advantage of you six more then I should. But I also enjoy seeing you guys and spending time with you. I may not do it as often as I should, but with you guys I know that it's more than just people I associate with. It's…"

"Friendship?" Annie said as she finished his sentence.

"Yea."

"So." She smiled as she poked Jeff in the chest. "You like us."

"Ow. You may be tiny but you still back a punch."

She continued to smile, but it slowly left her face as she looked at him. "You're serious. You're really not going to use being dean to graduate early?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"So what brought on this decision? What I said to you yesterday?"

"Pretty much. I was laying in bed just thinking about what you said, about how you thought once I was out of here I would want nothing to do with you. It hurt, because it's far from the truth. And I hated that even though I care about you, I've made you think that I don't."

"Jeff, if you're doing this just to prove something-."

"That's not what this is about. I'm doing this, because there's a bit of truth hidden in your statement. Not just with me, but with all of us. Once we leave here we're not going to see each other as often as we do now. And I know we're going to all try to stay friends and keep things the same. But, things happen. People might end up going to grad school, or getting a job out of state, or get married, or any number of things that keep people occupied. What I'm saying is, I don't want to accelerate that. I'd rather spend one more year in this place if it means holding onto what we have right now."

Annie looked up at Jeff for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him, pushing him against the desk as she engulfed him in a tight hug. Jeff steadied himself to keep from falling before he hugged her back. They held each other for several long moments before she finally untangled herself from him. If Jeff had had any lingering doubts about his decision, the huge smile that lit up her face completely dispelled them. "So, since that's out of the way, what is the first thing you're going to do as dean of Greendale?"

"Well, just because I'm not going to graduate early doesn't mean I'm not going to use this to my advantage. First I'm going to make sure I get into every class I need to take next year so I'm guaranteed to graduate next May. Then you and I are going to go through everyone else's class requirements and make sure everyone else in our merry band gets into their needed classes so all of us can hopefully graduate together."

"Jeff! That's blatantly taking advantage of things." She looked at him for a moment before she rolled her eyes and took out a notebook from her bag. "Fine, let's see. First we should work on Britta, since she declared her major so late."

"Wait, you actually planned for this?"

"I've kept track of every class each of us needs to take in accordance to their major. I just never thought I'd be in a situation where we'd be guaranteed acceptance into all our required classes."

"You are both scary and amazing."

"Thank you." She blushed as she sat on the desk as Jeff sat back down in the deans chair. "We are going to try and actually help the school though, right?"

"Yea, sure. After we help ourselves first."

"Ok then. Just trying to keep you on track. Ok Dean Winger, here's what we should do first…"

**The End**

**I'm not entirely happy with how this last chapter turned out. Just saying that for the record. **


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